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“ AN INTERESTING PROCESSION WAS SLOWLY WENDING 
ITS WAY TOWARD THE LAKE” {See page 12 ). 


Cosg (Horner Series 


LOYALTY 

ISLAND 


E, 

Marian W. Wildman 


Illustrated by 
Etheldred B. Barry 



Boston ^ ^ ^ 

L. C. Page & Company 
^ ^ i^o/j. 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
OoBles Rmelved 

SEP 1 1904 


Cooyrfrtt Entry 

CLABS CL. XXo. Na 
(f ^ 0 Oi 

' COPY B I 



Copyright^ jgo4 
By L. C. Page & Company 

(incorporated) 

All rights reserved 


<9 ^ 


‘Publislied' August, 1904 


COLONIAL PRESS 

ElectrotyPed atid Printed by C. H. Simonds Co. 
Boston, Mass., U. S. A. 





PAGE 


I. The Family Skeleton . . . . i 

ii. Things Begin to Happen ... 7 

III. The Castaways . . . . ^ . 22 

IV. The Storm in the Night ... 30 

V. Next Morning 36 

VI. Starvation Averted .... 43 

VII. Where Was Tad? .... 52 

VIII. The Stolen Rings .... 60 

IX. Caught in the Act .... 67 

X. A Ducking and a Dinner ... 77 

XL The Rescue 84 


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“ An interesting procession was slowly 


WENDING ITS WAY TOWARD THE LAKE” 

(See page 12) .... Frontispiece 


“ A TERRIFIC CHOKING AND SPUTTERING ” . 9 

“‘She’s gone!’ he gasped” .... 19 

“Tad found a piece of strong cord” . 40 

“ Winnie held on desperately ” . . -45 

“ Winnie and Phil looked first in one di- 
rection and then in another” . . 55 

“ Flatly REFUSED TO COME an inch nearer” 69 

“ Seemed to be about to fly away ” . 73 

“In bounded a very wet dog” ... 83 

“ The party which awaited him ” . . 86 




V 



LOYALTY ISLAND 


CHAPTER I. 

THE FAMILY SKELETON 

No, sir-ee ! declared Tad, whittling so 
vigorously that anxious Winnie expected mo- 
mentarily to see him slice off a finger or two. 
“ No, sir ! I don’t believe Dick stole the old 
rings, and nobody can make me! They can 
talk all they want to about circum — circum — 
what’s its name, anyway, Phil, you old dic- 
tionary?” 

I guess circumstantial evidence is what 
you’re trying to get at,” said Phil, looking 
up over his glasses from his book. He was 
reading ‘‘ The Swiss Family Robinson ” for 


2 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


the fifth time, and knew it so nearly by heart 
that he could read and listen to his cousins 
at the same time. 

“ Well,” continued Tad, all the cir-cum- 
stan-shul evidence in the world couldn’t make 
me believe that my brother is a thief. There, 
Win, I’ve cut my finger. Tie it up, won’t 
you ? ” 

The knife, having done its work, was con- 
signed to Tad’s pocket, while Winnie, never 
so happy as when she had a wounded knight 
to coddle, began to bandage the bleeding finger 
with her handkerchief.'— As -Philip had come 
to the end of a chapter, he closed his book 
and watched the surgical operation with in- 
terest. 

“ I say, Winnie,” he remarked, “ any one 
would know you were a doctor’s daughter. 
Wish I had a nice little sister to nurse me up 
when I get hurt.” 

Ho! ” scoffed Tad, “ you’ll never get any 
scars as long as you don’t do anything livelier 
than read your old books. Come on out and 
play catch, lazybones ! That’ll do. Win ; much 
obliged ! ” 

“ It’s too hot to play ball,” yawned indolent 


THE FAMILY SKELETON 


3 


Phil. “Besides, I want you to tell me all 
about Dick’s stealing - — ” 

“ He didn’t steal ! ” cried Tad and Winnie 
in an indignant breath. 

“ Oh, don’t get mad ! ” said Phil. “ Of 
course, I don’t think he did, but I mean, what 
was the rumpus about, anyway? I haven’t 
heard a thing but hints since I got here, and 
Uncle Thaddeus and Aunt Mary are as solemn 
as a pair of owls. Can’t you give a fellow 
a peek at the family skeleton ? ” 

“ I don’t suppose it would do any harm. 
You tell him, Winnie. I — I don’t like to 
talk about it.” Poor Tad! His big brother 
had always been his hero, and no one felt more 
keenly than he did the trouble that had come 
to their usually happy home. 

“ You see, Phil,” began Winnie, “ Dick was 
working in Mr. Allen’s jewelry store.” 

“To earn money to go to college, because 
father is so hard up,” put in Tad. 

“ Yes,” continued Winnie, “ and Mr. Allen 
liked him so much, and everything was all 
right till one day there were some rings gone 
from a case in the big show-window. No one 
could get to that window except from behind 


4 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


the counter, so Mr. Allen was sure no cus- 
tomer had stolen them. But there was only 
Mr. Allen’s son, besides Dick, in the store, and 
of course he wouldn’t think his own son did 
it. At first he didn’t say anything about it, 
but when more rings were taken, and finally 
one that was worth ever and ever so much 
money, he came and told papa, and — ” 

“ And everything has been just beastly ever 
since,” interrupted Tad, mournfully. Dick 
says he didn’t take them, but Mr. Allen won’t 
believe him, and pretty near every one in the 
village treated poor Dick so mean that papa 
sent him down to the city for awhile to Uncle 
John’s. And I don’t believe the real thief will 
ever be found, and we’ll never be happy again, 
so there ! ” 

At this melancholy outburst, Phil sighed 
sympathetically, and a tear began to gather in 
the corner of each of Winnie’s blue eyes. For- 
tunately there was an interruption to the un- 
happy scene. A sweet-faced lady, in a gray 
gown and hat, came out on the piazza where 
the children were sitting. She was pulling on 
her gloves as she came. 


THE FAMILY SKELETON 


5 


“Why, mamma, where are you going?” 
cried Winnie. 

“ I am going into the city with your father, 
dear. He has some business there, and I want 
to see Dick so much that I decided to go, too.” 
Here mamma’s eyes began to look teary, 
but she smiled cheerfully as she kissed them 
good-bye all round. “ Take care of Baby and 
be good children. We shall be home to-mor- 
row on the noon train, and Rosa will look after 
you.” 

“ Just time to make the train, Mary,” said 
Doctor Bentley, as he hurried out from the 
house. “ Good-bye, young folks! Tad, I leave 
you in charge. Don’t let the cows get into the 
corn-field, whatever you do ! ” 

“ And don’t let Baby eat too much sweet 
stuff,” warned mamma over her shoulder, as 
she followed the doctor down the gravel walk, 
leaving a rather forlorn little group on the 
shady piazza. 

“ Now, that’s what I call sudden,” mused 
Phil. “ Is that the way your father and 
mother always go away ? ” 

“ Not usually,” said Tad, “ but nothing’s 
been natural since Dick left. I should like to 


6 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


know what we are going to do with ourselves 
until to-morrow noon. What if Jasper should 
go mad, or the house burn down ? ” 

“ What if Baby should have croup to- 
night ? ” sighed motherly Winnie, anxiously. 

“ Oh, come ! ” protested Phil. “ What’s the 
use of you two pessimists being so down in the 
mouth ? I think it’s a lark to be running things 
alone. I predict that we’ll have enough ad- 
ventures to fill a book ! ” 

Now it happened that Phil’s prophecy came 
true, and, if you read to the end of this story, 
you will find out how many strange things hap- 
pened before Doctor and Mrs. Bentley came 
home to Hazelwood. 


CHAPTER II. 


THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN 

It must be admitted that things were pretty 
slow, as Tad expressed it, for several hours 
after the departure of the grown-up members 
of the Bentley household. Baby’s howls, when 
he awoke from his nap to find his mother gone, 
were anything but cheering. Jasper, usually 
the gayest and most friendly of dogs, had re- 
tired to his kennel for a snooze, and refused 
all invitations to come out and play. Even 
King Cole, the tame crow, was disagreeable. 
He teased the cat, chased the hens, and both- 
ered Jasper until Tad threatened to “ wring 
his black neck.” Upon this, the exasperating 
bird flew into a tree, and, cocking his head 
saucily on one side, cawed mockingly, as if 
to say : ‘‘ You’ll have to catch me first, won’t 
you?” 


7 


8 


LOYALTY ISI.AND 


It was long after dinner. The afternoon 
was warm and sultry, and the children were 
resting under the big maple-tree, drinking 
lemonade and trying to kill time. Baby was 
the only energetic member of the party, and 
his energy at just that moment was directed 
toward the digging of a “ vewy deep well ’’ 
in mamma’s geranium bed with a pair of dirty 
little paws. 

“ Phil,” said Tad, who lay flat on his back 
on the grass, “ pour me another glass of that 
lemonade, will you ? ” 

“ Couldn’t possibly, my boy ! I’m too com- 
fortable,” replied lazy Phil, stretching his long, 
thin legs still farther in front of him, as he 
leaned back against the trunk of the tree. 

Winnie, you give me a glassful, that’s an 
angel child ! ” 

No, thank you ! I’ve just got fixed, and 
I don’t propose to budge,” said Winnie from 
her hammock. 

I’ll det you thum, Taddie! ” piped a sweet 
voice from the geranium bed. 

All right, Baby, that’s a good boy,” said 
grateful Tad. 

A minute later Winnie and Phil were startled 


Things begin to happen 


9 


from their books by a terrific choking and 
sputtering. 

“ Laurence Lester Bentley, are you trying 
to drown your poor brother? ” yelled Tad. 

It thpilled,” explained Baby, contritely. 



while Tad sat up to mop the lemonade from 
his face and to take off his dripping collar and 
necktie. 

Laurence Lester, being somewhat embar- 
rassed, looked about for a change of subject. 
“ There comth Rotha,” he lisped, serenely. 


10 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


Why, she’s crying!” exclaimed Winnie, 
sitting up suddenly. ‘‘ What is the matter, 
Rosa?” 

Rosa wiped her eyes on her gingham apron. 

It’s mein mutter, Miss Winnie. Jim 
Downey’s boy from de village just came over 
to tell me dat she’s sick again, — one of dose 
dretful shpells. I so ’fraid she vill die already 
yet!” 

There was a sympathetic chorus of I’m 
sorrys ! ” and “ Too bads ! ” from the children. 
“ You must go right in to nurse her,” said 
Winnie. 

'‘Vat vill you do? Your mutter vould not 
like for me to leafs you alone.” 

“ Yes, she would, just for one night,” said 
Tad. “ Winnie can make a try at the meals.” 

“ I’ll tell you a better plan,” said Winnie. 
“ We will all go over across the lake to 
Grandma Gray’s to stay.” 

“ But it is so far around by de road to your 
grandma’s,” objected Rosa. “ Baby vould get 
so tired.” 

“ We won’t go by the road,” said Tad. 
“We’ll take the short cut through the woods, 
and row across in the Bouncing Bet, Father 


THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN II 

won’t care,” he added, hastily, seeing that Rosa 
looked doubtful. “ He’s often said he’d trust 
me with the boat as soon as he would Dick.” 

‘‘ I guess dat’s all right, but. Miss Winnie, 
your grandma won’t be expectin’ such a pig 
family to supper, and already it is after four 
o’clock.” 

‘‘ She calls us a ‘ pig ’ family. I like that ! ” 
said Tad, in an aside to Phil, who whispered 
back : I don’t know but she’s got some rea- 

son to, — she sees us eat three times a day ! ” 

Winnie had been thinking hard. “ I guess 
you’re right, Rosa,” she said at last. 
“ Grandma isn’t very well, and it would be 
a shame to rush in just at supper-time. Why 
couldn’t we take our supper in a basket, and 
eat it in the grove just before we get to 
grandma’s? Then we could stay all night, 
and I’d be there to help get breakfast in the 
morning.” 

“ You’ve a head like a tack, Winnie ! ” said 
slangy Tad. “ You skirmish around for the 
lunch, while I go scrape the lemonade off my 
fair visage. It’s time to start if we’re to have 
a picnic before sunset.” 

“Is we doin’ to have a pit-nit?” inquired 
Lof G. 


12 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


Baby, looking up with interest from the grub- 
bing to which he had returned with new zeal. 

“ Yes, sonny,’’ said Phil, “ but not with such 
a looking face as that! You come along with 
me and I’ll try to get off the thickest of the 
dirt.” 

Half an hour later the big house at Hazel- 
wood was locked and deserted, and Rosa was 
hurrying to the village, while in the opposite 
direction an interesting procession was slowly 
wending its way toward the lake. First came 
Tad, weighed down by a huge lunch-basket 
and a pair of oars; next was Phil, with his 
beloved ‘‘ Swiss Family Robinson ” under one 
arm, and under the other a disreputable rag 
doll, without which Baby could not possibly 
live overnight; last came Winnie, dragging 
leisurely Laurence Lester, who wanted to stop 
and inspect everything he saw. And round 
about the party frolicked Jasper, now thor- 
oughly wide-awake and ready for anything in 
the line of fun. 

When they reached the shore, Phil and Tad 
dragged the boat down from the boat-house, 
launched it, and helped Winnie and Baby to 
the stern seat. 


THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN 


13 


Now, Phil, you jump in, and Pll push her 
off,” said Tad. 

Phil jumped, but, alas! just at that minute 
the boat rocked, and he landed in an undig- 
nified heap in the bottom of the boat, while 
Baby’s beloved doll went soaring through the 
air and struck the water ten feet away. A 
groan from bruised Phil and a wail from be- 
reaved Laurence Lester rent the air. How- 
ever, brave Jasper was off like a shot for the 
doll, and brought it back none the worse for 
its bath; and Phil’s only serious injuries 
proved to be the ones to his feelings and the 
knees of his stockings. 

Every one being comfortably settled at last, 
Tad pushed off and jumped aboard, calling 
to Jasper, who could swim like a duck, to fol- 
low. Thus began the thrilling voyage of good 
ship Bouncing Bet. 

Silver Lake was hardly a mile wide at its 
widest point. Though it was a lovely little 
sheet of water, with beautiful wooded banks, 
it had not as yet attracted summer visitors, 
and, except for the Bentleys, only an occa- 
sional hunter or fisherman dipped oar or pad- 
dle into its bright waters. 


14 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


Tad’s vigorous strokes were sending the 
Bouncing Bet swiftly over its smooth surface, 
when Phil asked suddenly : 

“ Tad, what island is that we’re just pass- 
ing? ” 

“ It hasn’t any name that I know of,” said 
Tad, resting on his oars. ‘‘No one lives there, 
and the only house on it is a little shanty that 
Dick and some of the fellows built to camp in.” 

“ How big is the island ? ” 

“ I hardly know. I guess it’s about half 
a mile long and not quite so wide. It’s marshy 
down at the other end.” 

“ Can’t we stop a minute just to see what 
it’s like?” 

“ It’s too late,^’ protested Winnie. “We 
won’t get to the grove before sundown if you 
boys stop here.” 

“ Why not eat supper on the island instead 
of at the grove?” suggested Phil. 

“ Ought we to, Tad ? ” asked Winnie. 

“ I don’t know why not. Suppose we do ! ” 
and with that Tad changed the direction of 
the boat, heading down the lake. “ We have 
to go around the end of the island to a little 
landing on the other side,” 


THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN 1 5 

It was only a little out of their course, 
and in five minutes Tad had rowed up to a 
rather rickety boat-landing and had jumped 
out, drawing the boat close enough to let the 
others clamber ashore in safety with bag and 
baggage. Jasper had landed ahead of them, 
rather out of breath, but otherwise none the 
worse for his long swim, and was shaking 
showers of drops from his silky coat. 

“ I say, Win,’" exclaimed Tad, where's 
the painter?" 

“ The what ? " asked Winnie. 

Why, the painter, — the rope we tie the 
Bet with. It ought to be fastened right here 
at this ring in the prow, but it isn't." 

Winnie looked a little conscience-smitten. 
‘‘ I’m afraid I untied it one day to use for a 
jumping-rope, and Jasper ran off with it. i’m 
awfully sorry. Tad. Won’t the boat stand 
viithout hitching?" 

‘‘Now, isn’t that just like a girl?" cried 
disgusted Tad. “ She talks as if the Bouncing 
Bet were a horse ! Of course she won’t stand 
without hitching. The question is, what shall 
we hitch her with ? ’’ 


1 6 LOYALTY ISLAND 

Here’s my necktie,” declared Phil, tearing 
it gallantly from his neck. 

“ Here’th my dolly’th thash,” chimed in 
Laurence Lester, untying a grimy ribbon from 
the waist of his bedraggled child. 

‘‘Hold on!” said Winnie, “I’ve an idea! 
Everybody but Baby take off your shoes and 
pull out the strings. We’ll tie them together, 
and make a painter as good as the old one 
for cross old Tad ! ” 

“ Three cheers for Winnie ! ” yelled Phil, 
sitting down hastily to unlace his shoes. 
“ Here are my two. Captain Thaddeus Bent- 
ley, with my compliments.” 

Winnie and Tad followed his example, and 
soon the Bouncing Bet was rocking easily and 
in apparent security at a distance of some six 
shoe-lacings from the landing. In the mean- 
time our young adventurers had put on their 
stringless shoes, and had started on a tour of 
investigation. 

The cabin was not far from the landing, 
but it was so surrounded by bushes and trees 
that they would hardly have known how to 
find it if Tad had not been there often before 


THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN 


17 


with Dick. It stood on a grassy knoll, and 
the brush had been cleared away for a little 
space all around it. 

“ How pretty! ” cried Winnie, in delight. 

“ Can we get in ? ” asked Phil. 

“ Oh, yes,” said Tad. “ I know where Dick 
keeps the key.” As he said this, he was prying 
up a flat stone that lay in front of the cabin. 
Underneath he found what he was looking for, 
— a rusty key, to which the door opened read- 
ily. 

“ It's rather damp and spidery,” said Win- 
nie, looking in. 

Pooh ! a little fresh air and a fire are all 
it needs ! ” said Phil, pushing by her to open 
the one window wide. The sun (which was 
getting low, by the way) shone warmly over 
the dusty, bare floor, and lit up the simple fur- 
nishings of the cabin. A table, a wooden stool 
or two, a rough bunk in one corner and a cup- 
board in another — that was about all. At 
one end of the room was a brick fireplace with 
a stone hearth, and a mantelpiece made of a 
single pine board. An old cap of Dick’s and 
an ancient rifle, lately discarded for his new 
Winchester, hung above the fireplace. 


i8 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


“ It makes me lonesome to see Dick/’ 
sighed Tad. ‘‘ Let’s build a fire to make it 
seem more cheerful.” 

Winnie and Phil went out to gather dry 
grass and twigs, while Tad brought a big arm- 
ful of branches from the brush-pile behind the 
shanty. Soon a cheery fire was sending a 
swarm of bright sparks up the chimney, and, 
as the air was growing cool, the warmth was 
not unwelcome. 

Winnie was the first to notice how low the 
sun was. 

“We must have our lunch right off, or we 
won’t get to grandma’s till dark,” she said. 
“ Please bring in the basket. Tad.” 

“ All right. Sis ; I guess you’re correct about 
it’s getting late. Run down to the landing 
for some water, Phil, that’s a good fellow! 
Better rinse out this pail, though, — there’s 
about an inch of dust and spider-webs in the 
bottom.” 

Phil started off to do as he was bidden, but 
in less time than it takes to tell it he was back, 
slopping the water as he ran, with a tragic 
face, and a foot or two of shoe-lace in his hand. 



‘“she’s gone!’ he gasped.” 







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THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN 


21 


She's gone! ” he gasped 
‘‘Who’s gone?” 

“ The Bouncing Bet! Broke her painter and 
drifted clean out of sight ! ” 


CHAPTER III. 


THE CASTAWAYS 

What was to be done? After the first min- 
utes of speechless dismay, they began to dis- 
cuss plans for getting word to the mainland 
of their “ casting away,” as Phil, the lover of 
sea stories, called it. 

“ What do shipwrecked people usually do ? ” 
asked Tad. ‘‘ You ought to know, Phil. 
YouVe read all the desert-island stories that 
were ever written.” 

‘‘ They sometimes fire off a cannon to sig- 
nal passing vessels,” suggested Phil. 

“ Well, we haven’t any cannon and there 
aren’t any passing vessels, so that’s no good. 
What next?” 

I’ve read of cases where they built a big 
fire on the beach, or else tied a white flag to 
a tall pole.” 


22 


THE CASTAWAYS 


23 


‘‘We might do either of those things, but 
a heap of good it would do, when there doesn't 
a soul come near this lake, except by the road, 
which is way up at the north end, out of sight." 

“ You’re better at objections than ideas, 
seems to me," complained Phil. “ Let me see. 
Oh, yes, there’s the raft! They always try 
a raft sooner or later." 

Here Winnie spoke up. “ You needn’t think 
that Baby and I are going sailing on any raft 
you boys can fix up. If papa or Dick were 
here it would be different." 

“ You needn’t be alarmed, young lady ! " 
.said Tad. “ I guess we won’t make much of 
a raft without a plank or a nail I " 

“ In stories they often use stuff that is left 
from the wreck," mused Phil. 

“ Here’s all the wreckage that was left from 
our shipwreck. Make a raft of that if you 
can I " and Tad held up a fragment of shoe- 
lace. 

“ I’m afraid we’ll have to row home in the 
tin pail," laughed Winnie, “ like the Jumblies 
in Baby’s book, that ‘ went to sea in a sieve 
they did.’ ’’ 

“ This pail would do for a sieve all right. 


24 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


to judge from the way it leaks/’ said Phil. 
“ We’d better drink the water now if we want 
it. It’s going fast.” 

‘‘We might as well eat our supper, too, I 
suppose. No one will find us to-night, that’s 
pretty sure; but there’s no good reason for 
starving that I know of.” 

Tad’s suggestion met with hearty approval, 
and Winnie set to work at once to unpack the 
lunch-basket. After all, there was no cause 
for alarm. There was nothing to hurt them 
on the island, and Doctor Bentley was sure to 
hunt them up as soon as he returned home. 
Then, as thoughtful Winnie suggested, no one; 
was being worried about them, for her father 
and mother thought they were safe at home 
with Rosa, while Rosa would suppose that 
they had reached Grandma Gray’s long before 
now. And it must be admitted that, the more 
they thought about it, the more the whole thing 
seemed like a “ lark.” 

When Winnie took a big napkin from the 
top of the basket, a shout of derision rose from 
two hungry boys. 

“ I like that ! ” cried Tad. “ We supposed 


THE CASTAWAYS 2$ 

you had lunch in there, and here you haven’t 
a thing but — nightgowns ! ” 

‘‘That beruffled and beribboned thing of 
Win’s looks good enough to eat, but I’m afraid 
those flannel pajamas of Baby’s would set hard 
on my stomach. Is that all you’ve got, Wini- 
fred Bentley? ” This was from Phil. 

‘‘Did you silly boys suppose that grandma 
would have nightgowns of all sizes laid out 
ready for us?” asked Winnie, with dignity. 
“There! Does that suit you?” And she re- 
moved first the four nightgowns, then another 
big napkin, and there, underneath, was a 
dainty and substantial luncheon. 

“ Brush off the table. Tad, and I’ll take out 
these things and give you the bread to cut. 
Here it is. Now cut it thin, remember! ” 
“You may cut mine thick, Thaddeus,” said 
Phil. “ I’m no canary bird ! ” 

The picnic supper went off as merrily as if 
it had been eaten in the grove according to the 
original plan. All were hungry, and little was 
said while the good things Rosa had prepared 
were disappearing. 

“We really ought to have divided this stuff 


26 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


up into several days’ rations,” said Phil at last. 
“ We may not be rescued all summer.” 

‘‘ I’m so glad you didn’t think of that till I 
had eaten all I wanted ! ” replied Tad, brush- 
ing the crumbs from his coat and getting up 
to mend the fire. “ Now let’s skirmish around 
lively to get ready for the night. Hurry up, 
Phil! You’d better save that boiled egg, any- 
way. We may not be rescued for all summer, 
you know,” he added, teasingly. 

It was past sundown, and night was coming 
fast. Tad and Phil brought in a half-rotted 
log several feet long for a backlog, and 
enough sticks and branches to keep up the fire 
all night. Then Tad hunted up Dick’s old 
hatchet and cut an armful of hemlock boughs, 
with which to make the bunk into a comfort- 
able nest for Winnie and Baby. Over the 
green branches he spread two coarse blankets 
that he found in the cupboard. As for the 
two boys, they prepared to curl down in front 
of the fire, with Jasper’s shaggy side for a 
pillow. Baby was already sleepy, and so Win- 
nie, after hearing him repeat his little prayer, 
made him as comfortable as possible by taking 
the shoes from his tired little feet, and tucked 


THE CASTAWAYS 


27 


him snugly into the blankets. He was off to 
the Land of Nod in no time. 

‘‘ You might have undressed him, Winnie. 
Here were four nightgowns going begging 
for some one to wear them,” said Phil. 

‘‘ I didn’t dare,” she answered. “ It’s grown 
so chilly I was afraid he would take cold if 
I did. You boys must be sure to wake up 
once in awhile to fix the fire. I don’t want 
him having croup on my hands ! ” — this last 
in a very good imitation of mamma’s way. 

For more than an hour the three sat on the 
floor in front of the fire, talking over their 
adventures and planning ways of sending for 
help. 

This is a true desert-island story, isn’t 
it ? ” said Phil. “ Lots more fun than make- 
believe ones ! I tell you what — let’s give our 
island a name ! ” 

All right ! I suggest ^ Dick’s Island ! ’ ” 
agreed Tad, promptly. 

‘‘ Isn’t high-sounding enough,” objected 
Phil. 

Call it ' Richard* Russell Bentley’s Island,’ 
then ! I’m sure that’s high-sounding enough,” 
said Winnie. 


28 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


‘ Shoe-string Island ’ would always re- 
mind us of our adventure/’ volunteered Phil. 

“ I don’t want to be reminded of that part 
of it,” confessed Winnie, who had been feel- 
ing inwardly grateful to the boys for not tell- 
ing her that if she hadn’t lost the rope in the 
first place and suggested the shoe-string painter 
in the second, they might now have been safe 
at Grandma Gray’s. 

No,” said Tad, this was always Dick’s 
island, and, if it’s to be named at all, I think 
it ought to be a name that has something to 
do with him; something to show him we re- 
member him, and don’t believe he stole, and 
are going to be loyal to him through thick 
and — ” 

I have it ! ” interrupted Phil. ‘ Loyalty 
Island ! ’ That means all Tad has been say- 
ing, and as soon as we get home we can write 
to Dick and tell him all about it.” 

‘‘ Good ! ” cried Tad, and Winnie showed 
her satisfaction by clapping her hands. 

“ Ladies and gentlemen ! ” shouted Phil, 
leaping to his feet. “ I propose three cheers 
and a tiger for Dick Bentley and Loyalty 
Island! Hip — Hip — ” 


THE CASTAWAYS 


29 


“Oh, don’t!” warned Winnie. “You’ll 
wake Baby.” 

But the cheers were given, under their 
breath. Then Winnie lay down beside Baby 
on the bunk, and was soon as fast asleep as 
her little brother. Tad and Phil whispered a 
few minutes longer. 

“ We ought to have set a watch,” said Phil, 
with a sleepy yawn. “ Shipwrecked sailors 
always do.” 

“ All right, my son, you can watch all night 
if you want to,” and with that Tad made him- 
self as comfortable as one can on a hard floor, 
and shut his eyes. 

“ ril tell you what, Jasper,” said Phil, “ I 
guess ril let you do the watching. Good 
night. Tad.” 

“ Good night, Phil.” 

And after that the little cabin 'was very 
quiet, except when the fire sputtered, or one 
of the boys turned restlessly to find a softer 
spot on his mattress of pine boards. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE STORM IN THE NIGHT 

Crack! Boom-m-m-m-m ! The loud re- 
port rumbled and roared away over the lake. 
Winnie sat up suddenly in her bunk. That 
was thunder! 

“Wake up, boys! There's a dreadful 
storm ! " she cried aloud. 

The fire was nearly out, and the cabin was 
very dark, except when there came vivid flashes 
of lightning. Tad and Phil sat up, rubbing 
their eyes sleepily. 

“ Well, we can't stop it," said Tad, “ so 
we might as well go to sleep again." 

“ But I'm so frightened. Tad. Oh, I wish 
we were home ! " Winnie's voice was very 
close to a sob, and Tad felt ashamed of him- 
self. 

“ Don't worry, Sis. I'll have a rousing fire 
here in two jiffies, and we'll keep awake till 


30 


THE STORM IN THE NIGHT 


31 


the storm is over. Anyhow, the lightning 
wouldn’t strike this little, low cabin, when 
there are plenty of big trees not twenty feet 
away.” While he talked. Tad was piling 
brush on the red coals, and soon a fine blaze 
had sprung up and was filling the room with 
its cheery glow. 

Baby was awake, too, by this time, and all 
the children, after they had taken a peek out at 
the storm, gathered around the fireplace, Tad 
holding his little brother on his knee, while 
Winnie cuddled as close to him as possible. 
As for Jasper, he had retired hastily under 
the bunk, evidently wishing to get where the 
lightning could not spy him out. 

Phil,” said Winnie, “ don’t sit so close to 
the fireplace. Lightning always comes down 
chimneys.” And Phil, out of consideration for 
her feelings, moved back a few feet. Perhaps 
the fact that Tad’s rousing ” fire was get- 
ting pretty hot may have had something to do 
with his willingness to change his seat. 

The lightning was less severe now, but a 
heavy rain came rattling down on the roof 
of the little cabin. 

Phil yawned. If we’re going to sit up 


32 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


till this thing is over/’ he remarked, ‘‘ I’m go- 
ing to read.” He brought his “ Swiss Family 
Robinson ” from the table, sat down in such 
a position that the firelight fell on the page, 
and was speedily lost in the thrilling adven- 
tures of Fritz and Francis, Ernest and Jack. 

“ I say,” said Tad, “ if you’re bound to 
spoil your eyes reading by this light, suppose 
you read aloud.” 

“ All right,” replied Phil, good-naturedly, 
and plunged at once into the middle of the 
chapter where Francis and his mother are 
captured by savages. 

“ Goodness ! ” interrupted Winnie. “ I hope 
there aren’t any horrid black cannibals on this 
desert island ! ” 

Phil looked up with a mischievous smile. 

“You’d better look out, Miss Winnie! I 
saw some blacks this very afternoon on this 
very island. There were at least twenty of 
them.” 

“ What ! ” exclaimed Tad, while Winnie 
looked incredulous, and Baby’s eyes began to 
grow big with alarm. 

“ Honest, I did ! They were black as ink, 
and they said, ‘ Caw — caw — caw I ’ ” 


THE STORM IN THE NIGHT 


33 


Ho, you mean crows ! ” sniffed Winnie. 
‘‘ That makes me think/’ she added ; I won- 
der who will feed poor King Cole while we 
are cast away ? ” 

You needn’t worry about that good-for- 
nothing bird! ” said Tad. “ He’s more’n half 
wild, anyway. I’ve often seen him fly over 
here with the wild crows, and I guess he knows 
how to shift for himself as well as they do. 
They roost over here, you know, Phil, — hun- 
dreds of them.” 

‘‘Wish King Cole would fly over to-morrow 
and let us catch him,” meditated Phil. “ We’d 
tie a note around his neck and let him take 
it to Hazelwood for us. That’s what they did 
in a dandy book I read once, — ‘ The Cliff 
Climbers,’ that was its name.” 

“Why don’t we thend Jathper?” lisped 
Baby, from Tad’s knee. 

Why not, indeed ? “ Good ! ” cried Winnie 
and Phil ; while Tad exclaimed : “ I do be- 
lieve he’s struck it! Why hadn’t we thought 
of Jasper before?” 

“ Laurence Lester, you are a credit to your 
family. I should like to shake hands with 
you,” and Phil proceeded to do so with great 


34 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


ceremony. Baby was pleased at this attention, 
but very sleepy. As the storm was now about 
over, Winnie packed him off to bed again. 

“ But how’ll we send a note by Jasper with- 
out its getting wet ? ” she asked, returning to 
the fire. 

I know,” said Phil. “ We’ll put it in a 
bottle, cork the bottle tight, and tie it to Jap’s 
collar.” 

“ But where will you get your bottle ? ” in- 
quired Winnie. 

Phil looked a little staggered by this, but 
Tad jumped up, ran to the cupboard, opened 
it, and took down from an upper shelf two or 
three bottles of different sizes. 

I noticed these when I was rummaging 
for the blankets,” he said. ‘‘ Dick used to keep 
bottles of ammonia and such stuff for jigger 
bites, and there seems to be a little bird-shot 
in this largest flask. I guess the middle-sized 
one is the best, for it has a slender neck but 
wide mouth, so that the cord couldn’t slip off.” 

“Now, what shall we write?” asked Win- 
nie. 

“ I propose that we leave that part of it 


THE STORM IN THE NIGHT 


35 


till morning,” said Phil. I, for one, am ready 
to turn in again.” 

‘‘ Jasper, you coward, come out from under 
that bunk!” called Tad; and, since Jasper’s 
courage had been coming back as the thunder 
grew fainter and fainter in the distance, he 
obeyed promptly. 

The rain still pattered on the roof a little, 
and there was now and then a gusty dash 
against the window, but the lightning flashed 
no more, and Winnie was quite willing to re- 
turn to her nest. 

Good nights were said again (though good 
mornings would have been more correct, as 
the east was already growing light), and soon 
the castaways of Loyalty Island were once 
more sound asleep; and not even Jasper stirred 
again till the sun was rising over Silver Lake. 


CHAPTER V. 


NEXT MORNING 

Jasper awoke first, stretched, shook him- 
self, and looked around him. I suppose he 
was surprised to find that he was not in his 
kennel as usual, but he did not waste any time 
thinking about that. First, he stuck a cold, 
wet nose against Tad’s cheek; then he went 
to Phil and gave him a loving kiss right on 
the end of his nose, and last he made a fly- 
ing leap to the bunk and gave a sharp bark 
within a foot of poor Winnie’s ear. After 
that, sleep was impossible, and in five minutes 
the whole party was up and outdoors. 

Isn’t it fine not to have the bother of get- 
ting dressed?” said Tad. “I believe I’ll al- 
ways sleep in my clothes after this.” 

‘‘ Well, I won’t ! ” exclaimed Winnie. “ I 
think it’s just horrid, and I’d like to know 
36 


NEXT MORNING 3/ 

how weVe going to wash our faces and comb 
our hair ! ” 

Here’s a whole lake for us to wash in,” 
said Phil, “ but I guess our hair will have to 
wait till we get home. Never mind, Win,” 
he added, gallantly, “ yours doesn’t look bad 
at all — just nice and frizzly ! I like it that 
way, don’t you, Tad ? ” 

“ He isn’t here,” said Winnie, who was put- 
ting on Baby’s shoes, and trying to pat her 
own curly locks into some kind of order. 
“ He’s gone down to the lake for water for 
our breakfast.” 

Humph ! ” grunted Phil. “ I guess that’s 
about all we’re going to have, too, isn’t it? 
Rather slim diet ! ” 

There’s part of the loaf of bread left, and 
some cookies and two apples,” reported Win- 
nie, investigating the basket. ‘‘ I guess I’ll 
toast the bread, — there’s fire enough left. 
Come on. Baby, let’s go get washed.” Tak- 
ing one of the lunch napkins for a towel, they 
started down to the beach. 

It must be confessed that the young inhab- 
itants of Loyalty Island found their breakfast 
rather dry and rather scanty. When they had 


38 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


finished, there was hardly a crumb left in the 
basket. Winnie shook out the napkin at the 
bottom in the vain hope of finding something 
more. 

“ Here’s the little bag of salt that Rosa put 
in for our eggs,” she said, but there isn’t 
another thing left.” 

“Salt and water!” groaned Phil. “We’ll 
get fat if we live on that very long!” 

The situation was really becoming serious, 
and the children began to realize it. While 
they did not doubt that they would be found 
sometime, yet it might be a day or two before 
their rescue, and that would be time enough 
for them to suffer a great deal from hunger. 

“ You and I can stand it all right,” said 
Tad to his cousin, “ but we ought to have 
thought to save enough for Win and Baby. 
I needn’t have made such a pig of myself, for 
one.” 

“ Nor I,” agreed Phil. 

“ You didn’t, either of you! ” cried Winnie, 
hotly. “ You didn’t eat a bit more than I did ; 
and anyhow I’m sure Jasper will take our note 
straight home, and papa will come right 
away ! ” 


NEXT MORNING 


39 


“ Father won’t get back to Hazelwood till 
noon,” said Tad, rather gloomily; “and then 
he’ll have to go way up to the other end of 
the lake for a boat, now that the Bouncing Bet 
is gone.” 

“ Well, there must be something to eat on 
this island,” protested Phil. “ How about that 
gun over the mantel. Tad? Will it shoot?” 

“ Not without cartridges,” replied Tad, 
witheringly. “ But there is some fishing tackle 
here, Phil. Suppose you catch some minnows 
and try your luck while I am gone with Jap. 
I’m going to take him across the island and 
send him from the other side. He can swim 
straight across from there, and it isn’t much 
more than a quarter of a mile. If Dick had 
been here, he’d have swum it himself, easy as 
rolling off a log; but I’m not good for more’n 
half that far.” 

“ Let’s write the note the first thing we do,” 
said Winnie. “What’ll we do for paper?” 

This was an unforeseen difficulty, but Phil 
solved it by tearing a fly-leaf from, ‘‘ The Swiss 
Family Robinson.” Then he found a piece of 
charcoal left from the fire, and sharpened it 
with his knife into a very good substitute for 


40 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


a lead-pencil. Tad wrote the note, with much 
advice and many criticisms from Winnie and 
Phil, and at last it was finished, signed, and 
corked up tight in the bottle. Tad found a 
piece of strong cord with which to tie the 
bottle to Jasper’s collar. Jasper, on his part. 



seemed to realize that he was about to be 
trusted with some important duty. He did 
not jump and bark as usual, but stood very 
quietly while Winnie, Phil, and Baby patted 
his head and said good-bye to him. Then he 
followed close at Tad’s heels, and the two soon 
disappeared into the thick woods. 


NEXT MORNING 


41 


Now for the fishing, Winnie,” said Phil. 
“You hunt up the tackle, while I catch some 
minnows.” With that he picked up the leaky 
pail and started for the lake. Winnie went 
back to the cabin to look for the fishing tackle, 
which she found without much difficulty. 
There were lines and hooks, flies and bobbers, 
sinkers and reels, and, not knowing just which 
Phil might need, she took the whole box down 
to the beach. Baby trotted beside her, drag- 
ging his unhappy doll by one foot. 

To tell the truth, Phil, who had lived in the 
city all his life, except for a few short visits 
to his cousins, did not know much more than 
Winnie about the use of the various articles 
in Dick’s tackle box. However, he guessed 
boldly at what he did not know, and succeeded 
in rigging up two lines, one for himself and 
one for Winnie. Then he cut two saplings, 
and trimmed them for poles. Everything be- 
ing in readiness at last, and a dozen or two 
minnows having been captured, the three fish- 
ers started off down the beach. Tad had told 
them of a little bay where the fish usually bit 
well, a quarter of a mile or so down the island, 
and it was for this place that they were head- 


42 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


ing. Phil carried the poles and the minnow 
pail, and Winnie the doll, which Laurence 
Lester had discarded in favour of a fishing 
tackle composed of a maple-tree switch, a piece 
of string, and a bent pin. 


CHAPTER VI. 


STARVATION AVERTED 

‘‘Hush, Baby! You’ll scare the fish. I 
had a nibble then, Winnie, I’m sure.” 

They were sitting on the grassy bank which 
descended steeply to the edge of the little bay. 
There was no sandy beach here, and the water 
was several feet deep close to the margin. 
Five — ten — fifteen minutes passed, and still 
the two bobbers lay quiet upon the smooth sur- 
face. Baby’s line was too short to reach the 
water at all, but little he cared. He swung 
his maple-tree switch so recklessly that several 
times his bent-pin hook barely missed Winnie’s 
eye. “ I dot a bite ! ” he would squeal loudly 
every now and then, and perhaps that is what 
made the fish so wary. At least, Phil declared 
it was, and certain it is that it was not until 
Baby had wearied of fishing and wandered off 
up the beach that the luck began to turn. 


43 


44 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


It was Winnie’s bobber that twitched sud- 
denly, and then was swept out of sight under 
the water. 

I’ve got a fish ! I’ve got a fish ! ” she 
cried. 

“ Why don’t you pull him in ? ” yelled Phil, 
dropping his own pole and running to her as- 
sistance. 

“ I can’t ! He must be perfectly enor- 
mous ! ” And Winnie held on desperately, 
while her pole bent nearly double, as the fish 
fought for liberty. 

It was a lucky chance that had led Phil to 
cut poles of tough, pliable willow, and to 
choose the strongest of Dick’s lines and hooks. 
It was a still luckier chance that brought the 
big fish to Winnie’s bait just in the nick of 
time. But the luckiest chance of all was the 
one which helped two children, who knew 
nothing of the rules of fishing, to land at last 
the largest and gamiest black bass that had 
come out of Silver Lake in years ! It took them 
both to do it, but at last Mr. Bass lay gasping 
upon the grass at a safe distance from the 
water. Then Winnie’s tender heart got the 
best of her sportsman’s pride. 


STARVATION AVERTED 


45 


‘‘ Just see how the poor thing pants, Phil ! 
Let’s throw him back in.” 

“ Well, I guess not! ” declared Phil. Pm 
sorry for him, too, but we’d be a pretty pair 



working so hard to get him out. That fish 
is going to save us from starvation, miss ! ” 

‘‘ He’s most dead, anyway,” said Winnie. 
** I guess he’d die even if we threw him back; 
but don’t let’s catch any more, Phil,” 


46 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


I want to try just one more fling, Winnie, 
and then — why, where’s my pole gone ? ” 
There was no one to answer that question, and 
to this day Phil maintains that a fish even 
bigger than Winnie’s had swallowed his hook 
and dragged pole and all down from the bank 
and out to sea. 

“ Here’s my pole,” said Winnie, after they 
had searched in vain for his. “ You’ll have 
to get another minnow, though.” 

But when they went down to the beach 
where they had left the minnow-pail, they dis- 
covered Baby in the very act of emptying its 
contents into the lake, and the last little silver 
fish was just scurrying away into deep water 
when Phil and Winnie came up'. 

I don’t care,” said Winnie, with a sigh 
of relief. ‘‘ I’m glad to see the poor little 
things get away; but what made you do it, 
Baby ? Didn’t you know it was naughty ? ” 

“ I wanted pail,” explained Laurence Lester. 

‘‘What for?” 

“ For my eggth,” was his answer. 

“ For his eggs ? ” said Winnie to Phil. 
“ What does he mean ? ” 

“ Little eggth — whole netht full ! ” said 


STARVATION AVERTED 


47 


Baby, leading the way to his find; and there, 
sure enough, in a deep hole hollowed out of 
the sand, were dozens of little eggs. If Tad 
had been there, he could have told the others 
at once what it took Winnie and Phil at least 
five minutes to decide. 

“ I have it ! ” cried Phil at last. “ I never 
read a desert-island story yet where they didn’t 
find — turtle’s eggs ! ” 

“Turtle’s eggs!” echoed Winnie. “Do 
you s’pose they really are?” 

“ Sure of it. You have turtles here, don’t 
you ? ” 

“ Oh, yes, lots of them. Dick and Tad 
caught one over here once and brought it 
-home. It was so big we couldn’t put it in our 
big dish-pan, Phil ; and I wish you could have 
seen it snap at a stick ! ” 

“ What did they do with it ? ” asked Phil, 
with interest. 

“ Dick killed it, and the boys made soup 
of it on the playhouse stove. We all had some 
and a piece of the meat. It wasn’t so very 
good, though,” she added, truthfully. 

“ Let’s go down to the marsh and see if we 


48 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


can’t get one,” suggested Phil. How does 
Dick catch ’em, Winnie?” 

“ Takes off his shoes and stockings, and 
wades till he hits one with his feet; then he 
grabs it and pulls it out of the mud.” 

Oh ! ” said Phil, rather doubtfully, look- 
ing down at his feet. “ Don’t the old snap- 
pers grab his toes ever? ” 

“ He never said they did.” 

“ But they might.” 

Yes,” admitted Winnie, ‘‘ I should think 
that they might.” 

Now, I don’t want you to think that Phil 
was a coward, for he wasn’t; but for some 
reason the prospect of a turtle hunt lost its 
charm, as he thought of the muddy marsh 
water and the hidden snappers, whose two 
wicked jaws were doubtless always waiting 
to nab unlucky toes. 

‘‘ Tell you what, Winnie, I think we’ve got 
enough for dinner already; so let’s leave the 
turtles till we need them. But we’ll take these 
eggs, of course.” 

‘‘ Oh, you mustn’t rob the nest ! ” exclaimed 
Winnie. “ What would the poor mother tur- 
tle do when she came home ? ” 


STARVATION AVERTED 


49 


‘‘ I don’t believe she comes back after she 
has laid the eggs,” said Phil. “ And anyway, 
ril bet no turtle is smart enough to count 
higher than ten, and, if we leave that many 
eggs in the hole, she’ll never know there are 
any gone.” 

Tad could have told them that it was quite 
unlikely that the mother turtle would ever 
return to count the ten eggs, but, as neither 
Winnie nor Phil was quite sure, they decided 
to be on the safe side and leave them. The 
remainder — and there were five or six dozen 
of them — they put carefully into the pail. 

How did you come to find them. Baby? ” 
asked Winnie, as the three started back in the 
direction of the cabin. 

I wath diggin’ a well,” replied Baby. 

Phil had dropped a little behind the others, 
and was following a grassy path that ran a 
few yards back from the sandy beach and par- 
allel with it. To tell the truth, he was feeling 
a bit crestfallen at the thought that he was 
the only one of the party who had not found 
anything in the line of provisions for the starv- 
ing castaways. Baby had insisted on lugging 
his pail of turtle eggs, and Winnie had re- 


50 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


fused to be separated from her fish, so poor 
Phil had to content himself with carrying 
Baby’s discarded doll and Winnie’s fishing- 
tackle. No wonder he felt a little abused. 
But it is always darkest just before dawn, and 
even as Phil was concluding that he didn’t 
like real desert-island stories so well as he had 
thought, he made the finest discovery of the 
forenoon. 

‘‘ Come back ! Come back ! ’’ he shouted. 

Here’s dessert for our dinner ! ** 

And when they hurried back, he proudly 
pointed out a big bed of wild strawberries, 
just in their prime. Winnie lined with fresh 
leaves her own broad sun-hat. Baby’s sailor, 
and Phil’s cap, and in half an hour the odd 
baskets were heaped with the delicious, fra- 
grant fruit. 

Now,” said Winnie, ‘‘ we must hurry 
home. Tad will have been there for an 
hour.” 

“ Longer than that,” declared Phil, confi- 
dently. “ It must be almost noon.” 

But when the tired foragers climbed the 
little knoll to Dick’s cabin, there was not a 
sign of life anywhere about. 


STARVATION AVERTED 


51 


Tad ! ” they called, again and again ; but 
there was no answer. Phil and Winnie looked 
at each other in growing surprise. 

What had become of Tad? 


CHAPTER VIL 


WHERE WAS TAD? 

So sure had the children been that Tad 
would reach the cabin before them that his 
absence filled them with a vague alarm. 

“ What can have happened to him, Phil ? ” 
asked Winnie, half-crying. 

“ Maybe he tried to swim across with Jas- 
per and got drowned,’’ was Phil’s cheerful 
suggestion. He said it in fun, of course, but 
it was all that was needed to quite upset poor 
Winnie’s shattered nerves. Down she sat on 
the grass, buried her face in her apron, and 
burst into tears. Phil was at a loss to know 
what to do; girls were a good deal of a mys- 
tery at times. To add to the general gloom. 
Baby, overcome by the sight of his sister’s 
grief, began to howl lustily. Phil became 
desperate. 


52 


WHERE WAS TAD ? 


53 


“ Please don’t, Winnie ! Please don’t cry,” 
he begged. “ Tad’s all right. Pm sure. If 
only you and Baby will stop crying. I’ll start 
straight off and look him up.” 

“ You sha’n’t go a step without us, Phil! ” 
said a husky but determined voice from the 
depths of a blue gingham apron. I’m not 
going to stay here all alone with Baby, and 
have you go off like Tad and never come 
back ! ” The voice was much clearer now, 
and a pair of blue eyes and a rather red nose 
emerged from the apron. Glad to see signs 
of reviving spirits, Phil patted Winnie’s shoul- 
der encouragingly. 

“Of course, you may go, too, if you’d 
rather. . Let’s put these things in the cabin 
and start right away.” 

His suggestion met with approval. The 
precious spoils of their foraging expedition 
were hastily dumped into the cabin and the 
door shut. Then Phil led the way into the 
thick woods where Tad and Jasper had van- 
ished. Winnie and her little brother kept close 
behind him. For a short distance there was a 
narrow path, but soon this was lost in the 
underbrush, and they had to push blindly on 


54 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


through thickets of pawpaw bushes and black- 
berry vines. Baby got along better than either 
of the others, for he could wriggle through 
tight places as well as Jasper, and could duck 
under bushes and brambles that Winnie and 
Phil had to plunge through. How the mis- 
chievous twigs and thorns did love Winnie’s 
apron ! A series of rips and rendings attended 
her progress. Poor Phil fared worst of all, 
for his long legs were always getting so 
wound up in briers that he could not walk, 
and once he was so completely made a pris- 
oner that it took his and Winnie’s united 
efforts to set him free. To add to their trou- 
bles, many soft, wet places were to be crossed, 
puddles left from last night’s rain, and the 
stringless shoes flop — ■ flop — flopped, and 
threatened to stick in the mud and come off 
at any moment. Along the sunny beach, they 
had found no traces of the storm, but here 
everything was wet. 

“ Seems to me we have been walking 
miles ! ” gasped Winnie at last, coming to a 
halt. Don’t you think we ought to have 
reached the other side of the island long 
ago?” 






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WHERE WAS TAD ? 


57 


I should think so,” admitted Phil. 

‘‘We’ve been coming straight, haven’t we?” 

“ Straight as we could with those horrid 
brambles grabbing us every minute. There, 
Phil, the cabin’s right off that way.” 

“ Why, no, it isn’t. Win ! It’s this way,” 
and he pointed in quite a different direction 
from the one she had indicated. 

“But I’m sure!” 

“ So am I! ” 

“Which way do you think it is. Baby?” 
asked Winnie. 

Baby extended a chubby forefinger in still 
another direction. “ Tabin dat way,” he said, 
with conviction. 

Winnie and Phil looked first in one direction 
and then in another, and the truth came upon 
them by degrees. 

“ I guess we’re lost all right 1 ” exclaimed 
the boy. 

“ How are we going to get out, I should 
like to know I ” queried Winnie. 

“ Well, we can’t really be very far from the 
beach either way in such a snippy little island. 
I say we strike straight on through the woods 
till we come to some point on the shore. Then 


58 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


we can just follow the beach around till we 
reach the boat-landing, and there we are/’ 

But I’m so tired,’’ moaned Winnie, and 
I’m sure we’ll come out miles from the cabin.” 

‘‘ There you go again,” commented Phil, 
in good-natured disgust, “ always looking on 
the dark side of things! Now, I’m positive 
we shall come within sight of the landing. 
Here goes, anyhow. We can’t stay here and 
let the mosquitoes eat us alive.” So saying, 
he plunged again into the fhick woods, choos- 
ing the direction which he had himself named 
as the way toward the cabin. Winnie still 
clung to her own opinion, but she was too 
much discouraged to argue. On they went, 
splashing through puddles, climbing over fal- 
len tree-trunks, and all the time, had they but 
known it, getting farther and farther from the 
place they sought. All thought of hunting for 
Tad was given up, and their one thought was 
to get back to their starting-point. Winnie was 
trailing wearily along, hauling tired but plucky 
Laurence Lester by the hand, when she saw 
Phil stop short just in front of her. 

What’s the matter, Phil ? ” she asked. 

‘‘ That’s what I’d like to know ! ” he an- 


WHERE WAS TAD ? 


59 


swered, in a low voice, and by that time she 
had reached his side and saw what had stopped 
him. Not twenty feet ahead of them, lying 
face downward on the wet ground, was Tad, 
sobbing as if his heart would break! 


CHAPTER VIII. 


THE STOLEN RINGS 

Tad had heard them coming and now sat 
lip, wiping his eyes on a grimy handkerchief 
and trying to look as if nothing were wrong, 
but Winnie was already beside him, clinging 
to his arm and begging him to tell what had 
happened. 

“ Ith ’oo lotht, too, Taddie?” asked Baby, 
sympathetically. 

‘‘Lost? On this island? Well, I rather 
guess not! ” Tad’s effort to control his voice 
made it gruff and unnatural. 

“ Then what is the rumpus. Tad? ” insisted 
Phil. “Are you hurt or sick or anything?” 

“ I’m not hurt,” said Tad, grimly, “ but 
I’m sick enough. Look here ! ” He put an 
unsteady hand into his coat pocket, and drew 
it out reluctantly, while the others watched 
6o 


THE STOLEN RINGS 


6l 

him with breathless excitement. He opened 
his hand, and there, shining brightly against 
his tanned and dirty palm, lay — the stolen 
rings ! There were five of them, and one was 
set with a beautiful flashing stone. That, as 
they all knew without telling, must be the one 
whose loss had been the final blow to Mr. 
Allen’s faith in Dick. 

Winnie’s first thought was one of joy that 
the lost jewels were found. 

‘‘Oh, goody. Tad!” she cried. “Won’t 
Mr. Allen be glad, and Dick can come home 
again now. Where did you find them ? ” 

But poor Tad could not answer her, and 
Phil’s face showed such sorrow that Winnie 
looked from one to the other with growing 
alarm. At last she began to realize what her 
cousin and brother had seen at once. 

“ Oh, Tad ! ” she began, tremulously, “ Oh, 
Tad — you don’t think — ” 

“There’s nothing else to think, is there?” 
asked Tad, despairingly. 

Silence a minute, while Winnie turned as 
white as a little ghost. 

“ But some one else might have brought 
them over here to hide,” she faltered. 


62 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


No one ever did come here but Dick, ex- 
cept when the boys were camping. He was 
the only one who had a boat, and he always 
kept the key of the boat-house on his key-ring. 
He used to come over every Sunday afternoon, 
and he knew every inch of the island. I re- 
member he came over the day after — after 
Mr. Allen saw father, and he wouldn’t let me 
come with him, — ^ said he wanted to be alone. 
I thought then it was because he felt so bad, 
but now — ’’ 

“But now what?” urged Phil, though he 
knew too well what his cousin’s answer would 
be. 

Tad had got to his feet by this time, and 
he seemed older and taller than before to Win- 
nie and Phil, who were half-frightened by the 
bitterness in his voice. 

“ Now I know he came to hide the things 
he had stolen! Now I know that my brother 
is a thief and deserves to go to prison! And 
there wasn’t anybody m the world I thought 
so much of as Dick ! ” His voice broke here, 
and he had to turn away for a minute to hide 
the tears that he could not keep back. 


THE STOLEN RINGS 


63 


How did you happen to find them, Tad? ’’ 
asked Phil at last, very soberly. 

It was when I was coming back after 
starting Jasper,” Tad explained. “ I heard 
a red squirrel bark, and turned aside to look 
for it, and then, first thing I knew, I had come 
to this big, fallen tree. I stopped to look at 
it because I was sure I knew it. It’s the old 
oak the crows used to build in, Winnie. Dick 
got King Cole out of a nest in the top of it, 
don’t you remember? Then I happened to 
notice a big woodpecker’s hole half-way up 
the trunk, and I .stuck my hand in just to see 
how deep it went. I felt something hard and 
pulled it out, and there was one of the rings. 
The others were down so deep I could hardly 
reach them.” 

‘‘ But, Tad,” said Phil, the leaves on this 
tree are still fresh. It must have gone down 
inside of a week — last night, perhaps.” 

‘‘ I shouldn’t wonder. It’s been struck by 
lightning. See how splintered it is on the 
other side. But what of it, Phil ? ” 

Why, only that this hole must have been 
up forty feet in the air when the rings were 
dropped in. How could Dick have got up?” 


64 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


Tad smiled as he answered, with a pathetic 
remnant of his old pride in his hero : “ Humph ! 
I ^less you never saw Dick climb. There 
wasn’t a fellow in the village could beat him.” 

And you just said that he got King Cole 
out of this very tree,” remarked Winnie. ‘‘ He 
must have had to climb it then.” 

“ I wish you hadn’t thought of that, Win- 
nie,” said Tad. 

Why?” 

Because it’ll make just one more thing 
against Dick when you have to say it in court.” 

‘‘ In court ! ” gasped Winnie and Phil ; and 
Winnie added, faintly : “ Will we have to go 
to court ? ” 

“ We’ll have to take the rings to Mr. Allen, 
and then it’ll all come out, and Dick will be 
tried, of course.” 

Then why not just leave the old rings 
here?” Winnie pleaded. '‘No one will ever 
know that we found them.” 

“ We wouldn’t have done either, if it hadn’t 
been for you, you little red villain ! ” said Phil, 
shaking his fist at the saucy squirrel, who was 
barking at them from a tree near by. 

Tad shook his head decidedly. “ We’ve got 


THE STOLEN RINGS 


65 


to tell, Winnie, — that is all there is about it. 
It wouldn’t be square not to. One thief is 
enough for the family, I guess ! ” he added, 
angrily. 

“ Oh, don’t call Dick a thief ! ” cried Winnie. 

“But he is!” 

“ I don’t care! We said we were going to 
stick to him through thick and thin, and here 
we’re all going back on him already.” 

“ Guess Loyalty Island will have to get a 
new name,” said Phil, sadly. 

“ No, it sha’n’t! ” cried Winnie. “ We are 
loyal, aren’t we. Tad ? Even if Dick did steal, 
he’s our own brother, and we ought to stick to 
him, just as we said.” 

“ But, Winnie, we’ll have to tell.” 

“ We’ll have to take the rings to Mr. Allen,” 
admitted Winnie, “ but we’ll tell him all about 
it, and beg him not to send Dick to prison. 
Oh, let’s go and ask him right away ! ” 

Phil and Tad had to laugh in spite of their 
woe. 

“ How’ll we get there, — wade or fly ? ” 
Phil asked. 

“ Oh, I forgot.” 

“ But your idea is all right, just the same. 


66 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


Sis/’ acknowledged Tad. “ We’ll go to Mr. 
Allen the minute we get home, — if we ever 
do, — and I believe he will let Dick off, seeing 
it’s the first time he ever did such a thing.” 

‘‘ And since it’s going to be the last ! ” main- 
tained Winnie, stoutly. 

Then Phil, who could never look on the dark 
side of things very long at a time, added, heart- 
ily: 

I say, let’s give three cheers for Dick, 
thief or no thief! We cheered for him last 
night, when we were sure he was innocent, 
and he needs our loyalty a heap more if he’s 
guilty. Who’s with me ? Hip I Hip ! — ” 
And, if poor, lonely Dick, working hard in 
Uncle John’s office, and trying to forget his 
misery, could have heard the three shrill hur- 
rahs that followed, I think it would have com- 
forted him more than anything that had hap- 
pened since the beginning of his trouble. 


CHAPTER IX. 


CAUGHT IN THE ACT 

Have you been wondering what Baby was 
doing all this time? After listening to the 
others long enough to discover that they were 
talking unintelligible nonsense, he began to 
look about for amusement. Winnie was too 
much occupied to notice when her little brother 
slipped away into the underbrush near by. 
The first thing he came to was a lovely pool 
of water, — a real fairy lake, with graceful 
ferns growing all around it. The young man 
was down on his knees in the mud at once, 
and was launching a little green fleet of leaf- 
boats on the tiny waves. This was such fun 
that it kept him busy for at least five minutes; 
but Laurence Lester was nothing if not a lover 
of change. Tired of being an admiral, he got 
up, splashed straight through his lake and 
67 


68 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


pushed on farther into the woods. Here he 
found some late wild-flowers, and set to work 
at once to pick a bouquet for mamma. He 
worked hard and fast for some time at this, 
and the chubby fists were nearly full when he 
heard close by a mild, familiar ‘‘ Caw — caw 
— caw!’’ 

Baby looked up with a sweet smile of recog- 
nition, and cried: ‘‘Hello, Ting Tolel Turn 
do wn I ” 

But King Cole, while not in the least afraid, 
flatly refused to come an inch nearer than the 
low branch on which he was sitting. Baby 
tried in vain to reach him, but his short arms 
did not come within several feet of the black 
tormentor. Baby stamped his foot. 

“ ’Oo’re bad. Ting Tole ! I’ll det Taddie, — 
he’ll tatch ’oo ! ” And bent on summoning 
help, he started back to the place where he 
had left the others. The sound of three shrill 
hurrahs guided him, and in a minute more he 
burst upon the little group, shouting: 

“Turn, det Ting Tole! Turn, det Ting 
Tole!” 

“ King Cole ! ” exclaimed Tad. “ What do 
you mean. Baby?” 


vy/y) 


CAUGHT IN THE ACT 


69 


“ Ting Tole ith here. Turn det him! an- 
swered Baby. 





“ He must have seen some wild crow, Tad,” 
suggested Winnie. But Baby insisted so ear- 


\ 

4 


70 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


nestly that King Cole was in the woods that 
the others finally agreed to go with him and 
see for themselves. Sure enough, there sat 
Dick’s bird on the low branch, his head on one 
side as usual, and a wicked look in his round 
eyes. 

“ Come down, you rascal ! ” cried Tad, 
reaching for him. But King Cole had no mind 
to be caught so easily. Like a flash, he was 
off, flying in the direction from which the 
children had just come. 

‘‘ Tad, did you see anything in his beak ? ” 
asked Phil. “ I thought I saw him pick up 
something from his branch just as he flew.” 

“ So did I,” said Winnie. It was some- 
thing small and white.” 

‘‘ Let’s follow him and see.” And Tad led 
the way back toward the fallen oak. When 
they came up, they found King Cole circling 
about in the air in apparent distress. 

“ I’ll tell you what’s the matter with him,” 
said Tad. ‘‘ He’s mad to find the crow’s tree 
down. I suppose he hasn’t been over before 
since it fell.” 

After they had all whistled, coaxed, and 
called till they were tired. King Cole made up 


CAUGHT IN THE ACT /I 

his mind to be good. He fluttered heavily 
down and lit on Tad’s arm, where he sat look- 
ing at them with a very innocent expression 
on his bad, black face. 

He has got something in his bill, Tad. 
What is it?” asked Winnie. 

‘‘ It’s a white china button,” said Tad, tak- 
ing it out of the bird’s beak. “ Where do you 
suppose he got it ? ” 

‘‘ Out of mamma’s mending-basket, most 
likely. He stole a little doll of mine once. 
Tad, don’t you remember ? ” 

“ I’ll tell you what you are. King Cole,” 
cried Phil, tweaking the bird’s scraggly tail; 
‘‘ you’re a bad, black thief ! ” 

Thief ! The word brought back to all three 
the sad subject which had been driven for a 
few minutes from their minds. There was a 
moment of silence, and then, — did the same 
idea pop into three heads at once? 

Oh, Tad ! ” — it was Winnie who spoke 
— ‘‘ what if it were — ” 

‘‘ King Cole instead of Dick ! ” interrupted 
Phil; and Tad followed with a radiant and 
reckless offer to bet anybody a thousand dol- 


72 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


lars that King Cole was the guilty party who 
had stolen the rings. 

“ Caw — caw — caw ! ” shrieked King Cole, 
as if taking up Tad’s wager. 

“ Let him go, Tad,” suggested Phil, and 
let’s see where he’ll take his button.” 

Tad gave King Cole the button and tossed 
him off into the air. Then the children 
watched in breathless silence while the crow 
flew from branch to branch of the fallen tree, 
and, finally lighting on the prostrate trunk, 
began to walk slowly along it, as if he were 
looking for something he had lost. Even Baby 
felt the excitement, and stood as still as a 
mouse, with Winnie holding so tightly to his 
hand that he couldn’t have slipped away again 
if he had tried. Slowly, deliberately. King 
Cole stepped along the gnarly bark of the old 
oak. 

“ There ! ” whispered Tad ; ‘‘ he’s stopped ! ” 

The crow reached the place where a huge 
dead limb had broken off, leaving a decaying 
hollow. It was here that the woodpecker had 
dug out its deep nest. One step more and 
King Cole would come to the hole. Their 
hearts nearly stopped beating as he paused, 


CAUGHT IN THE ACT 


73 


looked up, flapped his wings, and seemed to 
be about to fly away. But, no! Happening 
to glance down again, he caught sight of the 



hole, gave a quick hop that landed him on its 
edge, and stuck his head into the opening. 
When the head reappeared, the beak was 
empty. The button had disappeared! 


74 LOYALTY ISLAND 

Caw — caw — caw ! ” remarked King 
Cole, in a satisfied way, and flew to a branch 
of the fallen tree. 

Tad was already at the woodpecker’s hole, 
cutting away for dear life at the rotten wood. 
Winnie and Phil hung over his shoulder, 
watching eagerly. This time Tad meant to 
solve the whole riddle of that storehouse of 
hidden treasures, and not until the entire depth 
of the hole had been uncovered did he shiit^ his 
Jack-knife. 

Not a great many things were found, but 
such as they did find were proofs positive 
against King Cole. No boy in his right mind 
would ever have hidden away the bits of 
bright-coloured string, the suspender buckle, 
the rusty nails, and the pink hair-ribbon which 
Tad rescued from oblivion and laid side by 
side on the tree-trunk. If any doubt had still 
lingered in their minds, it would have vanished 
with the appearance of the little doll which 
Winnie had lost weeks before. 

How clear everything seemed at last ! Win- 
nie and Tad began to remind each other ex- 
citedly how King Cole had always followed 
Dick everywhere, and how Dick had more than 


CAUGHT IN THE ACT 


75 


once been obliged to drive his pet back from 
following him to the store. What more nat- 
ural than that the crafty bird had sometime 
slipped in unnoticed by its master, and secured 
one of the pretty, bright things so temptingly 
displayed in the show-window? And, if he 
had succeeded in doing it once, was it strange 
that he should have tried it again? 

“ I believe I understand it all now,” said 
Tad. Dick used to go to the store at six 
every morning, long before Mr. Allen got 
there, to sweep and open up things. After 
he’d dusted, he always left the front door wide 
open to let the fresh air in, while he went back 
to the desk and studied his Latin till some one 
came. I know, because I went with him sev- 
eral times. Couldn’t King Cole have sneaked 
in as easy as anything while Dick was at the 
back of the store ? ” 

“ Yes, and sneaked out again without ever 
being seen,” agreed Phil. “ It’s a wonder Mr. 
Allen had anything left.” 

‘‘ And don’t you see,” put in Winnie, “ of 
course. King Cole wouldn’t think of following 
any one but Dick to the store, and that’s why 
nothing has been taken since Dick left.” 


76 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


That’s SO ! ” cried Tad, and that was one 
of the very reasons why people were so sure 
Dick did it. Oh, you wretch ! ” — shaking an 
irate fist at the cause of all this trouble — 
“see if I don’t wring your neck and make you 
into soup for our dinner ! ” 

“ Caw — caw — caw ! ” screamed King 
Cole, impertinently, while Baby, whom the 
word dinner had reminded of a very empty 
little stomach, began to sigh pitifully: 

“ I’m tho hungwy ! I’m tho hungwy ! ” 

“ I guess we all are,” said Phil, “ You show 
us the way to the cabin. Tad, and we’ll show 
you something better than crow soup for din- 
ner. We left a layout fit for a king back 
there, didn’t we, Winnie?” 

“ Yes, we did,” said Winnie, and then con- 
cluded very severely : “ but there’s one king 
that sha’n’t have so much as a smell of it, and 
that’s — ” 

“ King Cole ! ” shouted such a chorus that 
the poor bird was frightened nearly to death, 
and flew away home so fast that in a minute 
more there was nothing to be seen of him but 
a tiny black speck against the sky. 


CHAPTER X. 

A DUCKING AND A DINNER 

It was a very happy, though a tired and 
hungry, party that started back through the 
woods to the cabin. Tad’s joy and relief 
found vent in a series of shouts and hallooings 
that awoke every echo on Loyalty Island, and 
set at least a dozen indignant squirrels to bark- 
ing. Winnie and Phil quite forgot their 
weariness, as they scrambled through briers 
and over logs, and jumped mud-puddles with 
the greatest zeal. In fact, it was thanks to 
the general excitement that nobody was watch- 
ing adventurous Laurence Lester close enough 
to save him from a sudden head-first plunge 
down a little hill and plump into a marshy 
pool of water two or three feet deep. Such 
a wreck of a small boy as Tad fished out ! — 
soaked to the skin, and plastered with mu4 
77 


78 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


from the top of his yellow head to the toes 
of his stubbed-out shoes. Fortunately, he was 
not at all hurt, and regarded the whole thing 
as a huge joke. Tad wrapped his own coat 
around his little brother to keep him from 
taking cold, and carried him on his back for 
the remaining few rods to the cabin. 

Now, I should like to know what we are 
going to do with him,” scolded Winnie. 
“He’s sure to get his death, even if it is a 
warm day.” 

“ We’ll have to build a fire, anyway, to 
cook dinner, and you can take off his clothes 
and dry them in no time,” said Tad. 

“ But what shall I put on him while they are 
drying? ” 

“ There are the nightgowns,” said Phil ; 
“ why don’t you do him up in one of those ? ” 

“Just the thing!” cried Winnie, and, as 
soon as Tad could get the fire started, Lau- 
rence Lester was stripped of his dripping gar- 
ments, hastily rubbed down with one of the 
long-suffering lunch-napkins, and popped into 
his own little Canton-flannel pajamas. Still 
Winnie did not feel quite satisfied. He had 
always been a croupy baby, and already his 


A DUCKING AND A DINNER 


79 


voice was getting husky. She looked at him 
anxiously. 

‘‘ I do believe I’ll put Tad’s night-shirt on 
you, too, Baby, just to make sure.” 

“ Put ’em all on ! ” suggested Phil. “ Come 
on. Tad, we’ll help.” And while Winnie pro- 
tested and Baby giggled, the two boys togged 
out the little figure with the three remaining 
“ nighties,” putting Winnie’s dainty ruffled 
one on the outside as a finishing touch to the 
costume. Then they twisted all the superflu- 
ous drapery into a huge knot behind, which 
made their small relative look like a bantam 
rooster with a very large tail. 

‘‘Now have croup if you dare ! ” and Phil 
surveyed with pride the result of their efforts. 

“ Poor Baby ! ” said Winnie, pityingly, to 
the abused child. “ Come here and sister will 
fix you.” 

But to her disgust and the glee of the boys. 
Baby stoutly refused to have his novel costume 
tampered with. 

“ I likth nightieth ! ” he remarked, strutting 
up and down like a little peacock. 

Winnie gave him up and turned to her do- 
mestic duties. 


8o 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


‘‘ If you silly boys want any dinner, you'd 
better stop having hysterics, and clean that 
fish ! ” she said, severely. 

“All right! You hustle for wood and 
water, Phil, and Pll tend to Brother Bass. 
Je-ru-sa-lem ! " Tad ejaculated, as he inspected 
Winnie’s prize with so much admiration on 
his face that his sister’s heart swelled with 
pride. “ He’s at least three inches longer than 
the biggest one I ever caught I ” 

“ How are we going to cook him ? ” 

“ Do him up in a big bunch of grass and 
roast him in the coals.” 

“Will he be good?” 

“Will he?” Tad looked at her with pity- 
ing scorn. “ Just you wait and see ! ” 

“ How about the turtle eggs ? ” queried Phil, 
who had just come in with an armful of brush 
for the fire. But here Tad’s experience was 
more limited. 

“ I’m sure I don’t know how to cook them. 
Do you suppose they would be nice scrambled, 
Winnie? ” 

Now it was Winnie’s turn to be scornful. 

“ What would you scramble them in, — salt 
and water ? That’s all we’ve got ! ” 


A DUCKING AND A DINNER 


8l 


‘‘We might roast them in the coals like the 
fish.” You will have noticed long ago that 
Phil was never at a loss for a suggestion. 

Tad grunted. “ Yes, and have ’em blow 
up and hit you in the eye ! Fve tried that plan 
with hen’s eggs, and it doesn’t work.” 

“ I guess we’ll just plain boil them,” said 
Winnie, coming to the rescue. She proceeded 
to fill the iron pot, which hung from a crane 
at one side of the fireplace, with water enough 
to drown the entire six dozen. 

It was a funny dinner to which the cast- 
aways sat down a little later. The fish was 
delicious, — so every one insisted. Phil de- 
clared that he really enjoyed the flavour of 
wood ashes, while Winnie picked off the 
burned edges of her piece without a murmur, 
and Tad devoured his portion half-raw. It 
was noticeable that no one asked for a second 
helping of the “ plain-boiled ” turtle’s eggs, 
though only Baby was so impolite as to admit 
frankly that they were “ nathty.” Take it 
all in all, I am afraid our young people would 
have risen from the table as hungry as when 
they sat down, had it not been for the straw- 
berries. There were two or three pints of 


82 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


these, and not a single one was left for man- 
ners. 

‘‘ Now, this is what I call a good dinner,’’ 
declared Tad, in a loud voice, as if daring any 
one to deny it. 

“Splendiferous!” agreed Phil, trying to 
look as^if he had overeaten. 

“ It’s all right, of course,” said Winnie, 
“ but I wish I had a slice of Rosa’s brown 
bread for dessert.” 

“ I’m hungwy ! ” wailed poor Baby, who 
had just made the heartbreaking discovery that 
the very last strawberry was gone. 

“ Starvation stares us in the face ! ” declared 
Phil in his most theatrical tones. 

“ Unless we’re rescued pretty soon we’ll have 
to eat each other. That’s what they often do 
in desert-island stories, isn’t it, Phil ? ” 

But before the authority on shipwrecks and 
desert islands could answer Tad’s question, 
there came an interruption. 

“ Hark ! ” cried Winnie. “ What was 
that?” 

A sharp bark and a scratch at the cabin door 
left no doubt as to the answer. 

“ Jasper ! ” exclaimed everybody. 


A DUCKING AND A DINNER 


83 


Tad threw open the door, and in bounded 
a very wet dog, with his tail proudly wagging, 
and with a tightly corked bottle still tied 
securely to his collar! 



CHAPTER XL 


THE RESCUE 

“ He’s never been home at all 1 

“Oh, Jasper, you bad, bad dog!” 

“ Now I suppose we’ll have to stay here and 
eat turtle eggs the rest of our lives ! ” 

Such was the chorus of disappointed com- 
ments which greeted poor Jasper’s return to 
Loyalty Island. However, he refused to look 
the least little bit ashamed, and even barked 
indignantly at their reproaches. 

“ Maybe he did go home, after all, but no- 
body saw him,” suggested Winnie. 

A bright idea flashed into Phil’s head. “ Or 
maybe they did get our note, and have sent 
him back with an answer. Look in the bottle 
and see. Tad.” 

Tad looked, and, sure enough, the note 
which he pulled through the narrow neck was 
84 


THE ‘rescue 


85 


not the same one which he had put in several 
hours before. He opened the folded slip of 
paper and read the following message to his 
eager audience: 

“ Keep up your courage, young folks. Help 
is at hand. I will come for you as soon as 
I can find a boat.” 

“ It’s father’s writing! ” cried Tad. ‘‘ Hur- 
rah for you, Jasper, old boy! I’ll get you the 
biggest bone in the village, or my name’s not 
Thaddeus Bentley, Jr. ! ” 

And Jasper was hugged and petted by every 
one until he quite forgave and forgot the cold 
welcome he had received. 

“ Now we must pack up our duds right 
away,” said Tad, beginning to ram things, hit 
or miss, into the lunch-basket. 

“ Baby’s clothes aren’t nearly dry yet, so 
he’ll have to wear the nightgowns home,” said 
Winnie, feeling of the damp little garments 
that hung before the smouldering fire. 

“ What shall I do with these turtle eggs ? ” 
queried Phil. ‘‘Shall we take them home?” 

“Not unless you want them for your sup- 
per,” replied Tad. “ I prefer marmalade and 
cookies — ” 


LOVALTY ISLAND 


B6 


And baked potatoes and custard,” chimed 
in Winnie. 

“And milk to dwink,” added Baby; while 



Phil expressed his own feelings by firing the 
turtle eggs, one at a time, against the nearest 
tree. 

An hour afterward, when Doctor Bentley 


THE RESCUE 


87 


rowed up to the little landing, he found it 
very difficult to keep from laughing at the 
party which awaited him, so strikingly was 
it in contrast with the neat, presentable group 
which he and his wife had left the morning 
before on the piazza at Hazelwood. Un- 
combed hair, very insufficiently washed faces, 
rents and rips of all sorts and sizes, flapping, 
stringless, muddy shoes, — all added to the 
tramplike appearance of the shipwrecked ad- 
venturers. Laurence Lester was prancing 
gaily about, with two bare feet and the legs 
of his pink pajamas peeping from under the 
three nightgowns. Jasper frolicked around 
the party, yelping with joy and swelling with 
pride at the happy result of his cleverness and 
obedience. 

‘‘Everything in. Tad?” asked the doctor 
a minute later. “ All right, my boy, — push 
off!” 

They were sitting around the open fire in 
the library at Hazelwood that evening, all ex- 
cept Baby, who had been packed off to bed 
with a well-greased chest and a dose of pre- 
ventative from papa’s medicine-case. Winnie 


88 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


was perched in her favourite spot on her 
father’s knee, while Tad occupied a hassock 
at his mother’s feet. Phil was pretending to 
read, but it was with a genuine sigh of relief 
that he shut his well-worn ‘‘ Swiss Family 
Robinson ” at last. 

‘‘ There ! ” he said. I’m glad I’ve finished 
the old thing. Somehow it doesn’t seem half 
so interesting as it used to.” 

Doctor Bentley smiled. Perhaps your true 
desert-island story has rather put the make- 
believe one’s nose out of joint.” 

Shouldn’t wonder,” mused Phil. 

‘‘ Why don’t you write out your ‘ true 
desert-island story,’ Phil ? ” asked his aunt. 
“ I am quite sure we shall never really know 
all that happened till you do.” 

** Why not, rnamma ? ” inquired Winnie. 

“ Because you all get so excited that you 
interrupt each other, and chatter like little 
magpies whenever you try to tell us about your 
adventures.” 

‘‘ I guess that’s about right,” admitted Tad, 
contritely. “ Don’t see anything for it but to 
let you put down the whole thing in black and 
white, Phil.” 


THE RESCUE 


89 


I’m afraid I couldn’t do it very well now,” 
replied Phil, modestly, “ for I never practised 
writing very much. Guess I’ve always been 
too busy reading what other folks had written. 
But I’ll remember everything that has hap- 
pened, and sometime I’ll make a story of it, 
— you see if I don’t ! ” — the last with grow- 
ing enthusiasm. 

Good ! ” shouted Winnie and Tad to- 
gether, and Tad added : 

“ And you’ll tell everything, Phil, from the 
minute we left Hazelwood till the time we got 
back, and — ” 

And you’ll tell how glad we were to get 
here, too ! ” broke in Winnie. 

“ And how glad mother was to see you all,” 
said Mrs. Bentley, fervently, as she patted the 
rumpled brown head at her knee. 

“ And how Rosa’s mother was better ! ” 

“ And how Rosa herself had a regular jim- 
dandy supper all ready for us ! ” — of course, 
this was from Tad. 

And how papa went to see Mr. Allen right 
away about the rings that wicked King Cole 
had stolen ! ” 

“ Oh, and best of all,” — this was Tad 


90 


LOYALTY ISLAND 


again — how father telegraphed to Uncle 
John, and Dick will be home to-morrow ! 

And how every one lived happily ever 
after ! ” completed Doctor Bentley, laughing. 
‘‘ What is the story to be called, Phil, when 
you get it written ? '' 

“ It shall be called,^' said Phil, after a min- 
ute’s hesitation, “ it shall be called ‘ Loyalty 
Island/ ’’ 


THE END. 


COSY CORNER SERIES 


It is the intention of the publishers that this series shall 
contain only the very highest and purest literature, — 
stories that shall not only appeal to the children them- 
selves, but be appreciated by all those who feel with 
them in their joys and sorrows. 

The numerous illustrations in each book are by well- 
known artists, and each volume has a separate attract- 
ive cover design. 

Each, I vol., i6mo, cloth $0.50 

By ANNIE FELLOWS fONNSTON 

The Little Colonel. (Trade Mark.) 

The scene of this story is laid in Kentucky. Its 
heroine is a small girl, who is known as the Little 
Colonel, on account of her fancied resemblance to an 
old-school Southern gentleman, whose fine estate and 
old family are famous in the region. This old Colonel 
proves to be the grandfather of the child. 

The Giant Scissors. 

This is the story of Joyce and of her adventures in 
France, — the wonderful house with the gate of The 
Giant Scissors, Jules, her little playmate, Sister Denisa, 
the cruel Brossard, and her dear Aunt Kate. Joyce is 
a great friend of the Little Colonel, and in later volumes 
shares with her the delightful experiences of the “ House 
Party ” and the “ Holidays.” 

Two Little Knights of Kentucky, 

Who Were the Little Colonel’s Neighbors. 
In this volume the Little Colonel returns to us like an 
old friend, but with added grace and charm. She is 
not, however, the central figure of the story, that place 
being taken by the “ two little knights.” 


2 


L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 


By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON {^Continued) 

Cicely and Other Stories for Girls. 

The readers of Mrs. Johnston’s charming juveniles 
will be glad to learn of the issue of this volume for 
young people, written in the author’s sympathetic and 
entertaining manner. 

Aunt ’Liza’s Hero and Other Stories. 

A collection of six bright little stories, which will 
appeal to all boys and most girls. 

Big Brother. 

A Story of two boys. The devotion and care of 
Steven, himself a small boy, for his baby brother, is the 
theme of the simple tale, the pathos and beauty of which 
has appealed to so many thousands. 

Ole Hammy’s Torment. 

“Ole Mammy’s Torment” has been fitly called “a 
classic of Southern life.” It relates the haps and mis- 
haps of a small negro lad, and tells how he was led by 
love and kindness to a knowledge of the right. 

The Story of Dago. 

In this story Mrs. Johnston relates the story of Dago, 
a pet monkey, owned jointly by two brothers. Dago 
tells his own story, and the account of his haps and mis- 
haps is both interesting and amusing. 

The Quilt That Jack Built. 

A pleasant little story of a boy’s labor of love, and 
how it changed the course of his life many years after 
it was accomplished. Told in Mrs. Johnston’s usual 
vein of quaint charm and genuine sincerity. 


COSY CORNER SERIES 


3 


By EDITH ROBINSON 

A Little Puritan’s First Christmas, 

A story of Colonial times in Boston, telling how 
Christmas was invented by Betty Sewall, a typical child 
of the Puritans, aided by her brother Sam. 

A Little Daughter of Liberty. 

The author’s motive for this story is well indicated by 
a quotation from her introduction, as follows : 

“ One ride is memorable in the early history of the 
American Revolution, the well-known ride of Paul 
Revere. Equally deserving of commendation is another 
ride, — untold in verse or story, its records preserved 
only in family papers or shadowy legend, the ride of 
Anthony Severn was no less historic in its action or 
memorable in its consequences.” 

A Loyal Little flaid. 

A delightful and interesting story of Revolutionary 
days, in which the child heroine, Betsey Schuyler, 
renders important services to George Washington. 

A Little Puritan Rebel. 

Like Miss Robinson’s successful story of “ A Loyal 
Little Maid,” this is another historical tale of a real girl, 
during the time when the gallant Sir Harry Vane was 
governor of Massachusetts. 

A Little Puritan Pioneer. 

The scene of this story is laid in the Puritan settle- 
ment at Charlestown. The little girl heroine adds 
another to the list of favorites so well known to the 
young people. 

A Little Puritan Bound Girl. 

A story of Boston in Puritan days, which is of great 
interest to youthful readers. 


4 


L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 


By QUID A (Louise de la Ramie) 

A Dog of Flanders : a Christmas Story. 

Too well and favorably known to require description. 

The Niirnberg Stove. 

This beautiful story has never before been published 
at a popular price. 

A Provence Rose. 

A story perfect in sweetness and in grace. 

Findelkind. 

A charming story about a little Swiss herdsman. 

By MISS MULOCK 

The Little Lame Prince. 

A delightful story of a little boy who has many adven- 
tures by means of the magic gifts of his fairy godmother. 

Adventures of a Brownie. 

The story of a household elf who torments the cook 
and gardener, but is a constant joy and delight to the 
children who love and trust him. 

His Little Mother. 

Miss Mulock’s short stories for children are a constant 
source of delight to them, and “ His Little Mother,” in 
this new and attractive dress, will be welcomed by hosts 
of youthful readers. 

Little Sunshine’s Holiday. 

An attractive story of a summer outing. “ Little Sun- 
shine” is another of those beautiful child-characters for 
which Miss Mulock is so justly famous. 


cosy conNER series 


S 


By JULIANA NOE AT/A EWING 

Jackanapes. 

A new edition, with new illustrations, of this exquisite 
and touching story, dear alike to young and old. 

story of a Short Life. 

This beautiful and pathetic story will never grow old. 
It is a part of the world’s literature, and will never die. 

A Great Emergency. 

How a family of children prepared for a great emer- 
gency, and how they acted when the emergency came. 

The Trinity Flower. 

In this little volume are collected three of Mrs. 
Ewing’s best short stories for the young people. 

Madam Liberality. 

From her cradle up Madam Liberality found her 
chief delight in giving. 

By FRANCES MARGARET FOX 

The Little Giant’s Neighbours. 

A charming nature story of a “ little giant ” whose 
neighbours were the creatures of the field and garden. 

Farmer Brown and the Birds. 

A little story v/hich teaches children that the birds 
are man’s best friends. 

Betty of Old Mackinaw. 

A charming story of child-life, appealing especially to 
the little readers who like stories of “ real people.” 

riother Nature’s Little Ones, 

Curious little sketches describing the early lifetime, or 
“childhood,” of the little creatures out-of-doors. 


6 


L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY’S 


By WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE 

The Farrier’s Dog and His Fellow. 

This story, written by the gifted young Southern 
woman, will appeal to all that is best in the natures of 
the many admirers of her graceful and piquant style. 

The Fortunes of the Fellow. 

Those who read and enjoyed the pathos and charm 
of “ The Farrier’s Dog and His Fellow” will welcome 
the further account of the “ Adventures of Baydaw and 
the Fellow” at the home of the kindly smith. 

The Best of Friends. 

This continues the experiences of the Farrier’s dog and 
his Fellow, written in Miss Dromgoole’s well-known 
charming style. 

By FRANCES HODGES WEHTE 

Helena’s Wonderworld. 

A delightful tale of the adventures of a little girl in 
the mysterious regions beneath the sea. 

Aunt Nabby’s Children. 

This pretty little story, touched with the simple humor 
of country life, tells of two children who were adopted 
by Aunt Nabby. 

By MARSHALL SAUNDERS 

For His Country. 

A sweet and graceful story of a little boy who loved 
his country ; written with that charm which has endeared 
Miss Saunders to hosts of readers. 

Nita, the Story of an Irish Setter. 

In this touching little book. Miss Saunders shows 
how dear to her heart are all of God’s dumb creatures. 


COSV CORNER SERIES 


7 


By OTHER AUTHORS 

The Flight of Rosy Dawn. By Pau- 
line Bradford Mackie. 

The Christmas of little Wong Jan, or “ Rosy Dawn,” 
a young Celestial of San Francisco, is the theme of this 
pleasant little story. 

Susanne. By Frances J. Delano. 

This little story will recall in sweetness and appealing 
charm the work of Kate Douglas Wiggin and Laura E. 
Richards. 

nillicent in Dreamland. By Edna S. 

Brainerd. 

The quaintness and fantastic character of Millicent’s 
adventures in Dreamland have much of the fascination 
of “ Alice in Wonderland,” and all small readers of 
“Alice” will enjoy making Millicent’s acquaintance. 

Jerry’s Reward. By Evelyn Snead 

Barnett. 

This is an interesting and wholesome little story of 
the change that came over the thoughtless imps on Jef- 
ferson Square when they learned to know the stout- 
hearted Jerry and his faithful Peggy. 

Peggy’s Trial. By Mary Knight Potter. 

Peggy is an impulsive little woman of ten, whose 
rebellion from a mistaken notion of loyalty, and her sub- 
sequent reconciliation to the dreaded “ new mother,” are 
most interestingly told. 

Loyalty Island. By Marian W. Wildman. 

An account of the adventures of four children and 
their pet dog on an island, and how they cleared their 
brother from the suspicion of dishonesty. 


8 


Z. C. PAGE AETD COMPANY^S 


Prince Yellowtop. By kate whiting patch. 

A pretty little fairy tale. 

The Little Christmas Shoe. By jane p. 

SCOTT-WOODRUFF. 

A touching story of Yule-tide. 

The Little Professor. By Ida Horton 

Cash. 

A quaint tale of a quaint little girl. 

The Seventh Daughter, By grace Wick- 
ham Curran. 

One of the best stories for little girls that has been 
published for a long time. 

AVee Dorothy. By laura updegraff. 

A story of two orphan children, the tender devotion 
of the eldest, a boy, for his sister being its theme and 
setting. AVith a bit of sadness at the beginning, the 
story is otherwise bright and sunny, and altogether 
wholesome in every way. 

The King of the Golden River: a 

Legend of Stiria. By John Ruskin. 

Written fifty years or more ago, and not originally 
intended for publication, this little fairy tale soon be- 
came known and made a place for itself. 

A Child’s Garden of Verses. By r. l. 

Stevenson. 

Mr. Stevenson’s little volume is too well known to 
need description. It will be heartily welcomed in this 
new and attractive edition. 

Little King Davie. By Nellie Hellis. 

The story of a little crossing-sweeper, that will make 
many boys thankful they are not in the same position. 
Davie’s accident, hospital experiences, conversion, and 
subsequent life are of thrilling interest. 


COSY CORNER SERIES 


9 


Rab and His Friends. By dr. John 

Brown. 

Doctor Brown’s little masterpiece is too well known 
to need description. The dog Rab is loved by all 

The Sleeping Beauty, a modern ver- 
sion. By Martha B. Dunn. 

This charming story of a little fishermaid of Maine, 
intellectually “asleep” until she meets the “Fairy 
Prince,” reminds us of “ Ouida” at her best 

The Water People. By Charles Lee 
Sleight. 

A fascinating story of the adventures of a sturdy 
reliant American boy among the “ Water People.” 


THE LITTLE COUSIN SERIES 


The most delightful and interesting accounts possible 
of child-life in other lands, filled with quaint sayings, 
doings, and adventures. 

Each I vol., i2mo, decorative cover, cloth, with six 
full-page illustrations in color by L. J. Bridgman. 

Price per volume $ 0.60 

“ Juveniles will get a whole world of pleasure and instruc- 
tion out of The Little Cousin Series. . . . Pleasing narra- 
tives give pictures of the little folk in the far-away lands in 
their duties and pleasures, showing their odd ways of 
playing, studying, their queer homes, clothes, and play- 
things. . . — Detroit News- Tribune. 

By MARY HAZELTON WADE 

Our Little 5wiss Cousin. 

Our Little Norwegian Cousin. 

Our Little Italian Cousin. 

Our Little Siamese Cousin. 

Our Little Cuban Cousin. 

Our Little Hawaiian Cousin. 

Our Little Eskimo Cousin. 

Our Little Philippine Cousin. 

Our Little Porto Rican Cousin, 

Our Little African Cousin. 

Our Little Japanese Cousin 
Our Little Brown Cousin. 

Our Little Indian Cousin. 

Our Little Russian Cousin. 

Our Little German Cousin. 

Our Little Irish Cousin. 

Our Little Turkish Cousin. 

Our Little Jewish Cousin. 

By ISAAC HEADLAND TAYLOR 

Our Little Chinese Cousin. 

By ELIZABETH ROBERTS MacDONALD 

Our Little Canadian Cousin. 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE LITTLE COLONEL BOOKS 

(Trade Mark.) 

By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON 

Each, I vol., large i2mo, cloth decorative, fully illustrated, 
per vol 1 1 -SO 

The Little Colonel Stories. 

(Trade Mark.) 

Illustrated. 

Being three “ Little Colonel ” stories in the Cosy 
Corner Series, “The Little Colonel,” “Two Little 
Knights of Kentucky,” and “ The Giant Scissors,” put 
into a single volume. 

The Little Colonel’s House Party. 

(Trade Mark.) 

Illustrated by Louis Meynell. 

The Little Colonel’s Holidays. 

(Trade Mark.) 

Illustrated by L. J. Bridgman. 

The Little Colonel’s Hero. 

(Trade Mark.) 

Illustrated by E. B. Barry. 

The Little Colonel at Boarding 

(Trade Mark.) 

. School. 

Illustrated by E. B. Barry. 

The Little Colonel in Arizona. (/« 

(Trade Mark.) 

preparation ) Illustrated by L. J. Bridgman. 

Since the time of “ Little Women,” no juvenile heroine 
has been better beloved of her child readers than Mrs. 
Johnston’s “ Little Colonel.” Each succeeding book 
has been more popular than its predecessor. 


2 


L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 


Joel : A Boy of Galilee. 

By Annie Fellows Johnston. Illustrated by L. J. 

Bridgman. 

New illustrated edition, uniform with the Little Colonel 
Books, I vol., large i2mo, cloth decorative . $1.50 

A story of the time of Christ, which is one of the 
author’s best-known books, and which has been trans- 
lated into many languages, the last being Italian. 

Flip’s “ Islands of Providence.” by 

Annie Fellows Johnston. 

1 2mo, cloth, with illustrations . . . $1.00 

In this book the author of “The Little Colonel” and 
her girl friends and companions shows that she is 
equally at home in telling a tale in which the leading 
character is a boy, and in describing his troubles and 
triumphs in a way that will enhance her reputation as a 
skilled and sympathetic writer of stories for children. 


Asa Holmes; or, at the cross -roads, a 

sketch of Country Life and Country Humor. By 
Annie Fellows Johnston. With a frontispiece by 
Ernest Fosbery. 

Large i6mo, cloth, gilt top . . * . . $i 00 

“‘Asa Holmes; or, At the Cross-roads’ is the most de- 
lightful, most sympathetic and wholesome book that has been 
published in a long while. The lovable, cheerful, touching 
incidents, the descriptions of persons and things are wonder- 
fully true to nature.” — Boston Times. 

The Great Scoop. By Molly Elliot Sea- 

well, author of “ Little Jarvis,” “ Laurie Vane,” etc. 
i2mo, cloth, with illustrations . . . $i 00 

A capital tale of newspaper life in a big city, and of 
a bright, enterprising, likable youngster employed therein. 
Every boy with an ounce of true boyish blood in him 
will have the time of his life in reading how Dick Hen- 
shaw entered the newspaper business, and how he 
secured “ the great scoop.” 






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